Moral clarity is blurry again in the Bush administration. First disarming Saddam. Then liberating Iraq. Now it's unclear which was the motive: Ari today in the NY Times:

Even though all the reports from Iraq indicate that Mr. Hussein and his coterie are out of power — if not dead, then fleeing or hiding — Mr. Fleischer declined to speculate when the word "victory" might be appropriately used.

"Yes, indeed, the regime has ended," Mr. Fleischer said. "But yes, indeed, fighting remains. It is still a battlefield. While the central command and control elements of the regime have been collapsed, there remain pockets of loyalists who continue to fight and present harm for our armed forces."

In response to a question, Mr. Fleischer said the president has always viewed "the mission" in Iraq as disarming the regime and liberating the Iraqi people. "But I'm not going to define for you what the president will later define as victory," he said.

Huh? So when do we leave? When does the Un take on its vital role? When does Iraq have democracy? And what kind sorry-assed bullshit is the President getting to stay quiet now and the decide later and retroactively when this war ends and how it is justifiable?